With one minute left on the clock, sophomore Shae Scheffler connected a two-point jump shot to seal a 70-45 victory for the Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team over Rogers State University on Feb. 16 in the Nest.
The victory marked Coach Stephanie Findley’s 600th career win as the Oklahoma Christian women’s basketball head coach, while coaching her 1000th game as an Eagle. Win number 600 moved Findley into 35th place for career wins nationally on any level.
“We wanted to do that for coach because she works so hard for us the whole year,” Senior McKenzie Stanford said. “She does everything for us. We wanted to do that for her, and what better game than Rogers.”
The Lady Eagles returned home after a three-away-game stretch in Texas. Stanford said it felt great to be back in the Nest on Thursday.
“In Texas, it is always harder to play,” Stanford said. “It is always good to be back home in the Nest. The Nest is home, and we always shoot better here.”
Stanford’s statement reigned true as the Lady Eagles shot 41.8 percent from the field and connected five three-pointers.
In the victory, the Lady Eagles held Rogers State to shooting 25.8 percent from the field. Rogers State did not have any players score in double digits.
Stanford lead the Lady Eagles with 19 points. Sophomore Addy Clift added 12 points, and senior Sarah Parker finished with 11 in the Lady Eagles’ win.
On Saturday, the Lady Eagles returned to the Nest to face the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on “senior night.”
The Lady Eagles honored six seniors this 2017 season: Stanford, Parker, Emma Gade, Hannah Holasek, Kylee Hicks and Dontasia McAfee.
In their last meeting, the Lady Eagles lost to the Lady Lions 84-89 on the road. However, this meeting resulted in a Lady Eagles victory, with Oklahoma Christian winning 79-70.
The lead shifted 12 times throughout the course of the game and no team lead by more than seven points until under the two-minute mark. The Lady Eagles managed to outrebound the Lady Lions 46-44, and combined with committing only 12 turnovers, lead to the win for Oklahoma Christian.
Stanford recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Her performances on Thursday and Saturday clinched her second place on the Heartland Conference’s career scoring list with 1,661 points. After her 25-point performance against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Stanford was named Heartland Conference Player of the Week.
“My freshman year, I was a little eighteen-year-old girl,” Stanford said. “My goal was to work hard every day and be better today than I was yesterday. I relied on that hard work to get me there. Being at the number two spot, it is such a blessing. All the glory to God.”
Clift added 22 points in Saturday’s win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
With the victory on Saturday, the Lady Eagles moved to fourth place in Heartland Conference standings. Currently, they are half-a-game behind reigning NCAA Division II Champions Lubbock Christian University.
The Lady Eagles travel to Lubbock on Thursday with hopes of securing a victory and the third spot in Conference standings.
“We are still taking it one game at a time,” Stanford said of Thursday’s upcoming game. “Hopefully, we can pull out this win with Lubbock and move up. We are going to have to make sure we are guarding their post girl who averaged 10 blocks in two games, and key in on their three-point shooters. If we can stop those two, we will be fine.”
The Lady Eagles go on the road Thursday to Lubbock, TX, to battle Lubbock Christian. Heartland Conference tournament play opens Mar. 3rd.
Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.
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